Some vehicles include an autonomous operation system under which the vehicle is subject to autonomous operation. In these so-called autonomous vehicles, a human driver may cede control over one or more primary control functions in favor of autonomous operation. In autonomous operation, the autonomous operation system generates a driving plan for maneuvering the vehicle on a roadway based on detected information about the environment surrounding the vehicle. To execute the driving plan, the autonomous operation system operates vehicle systems associated with the primary control functions over which the human driver has ceded control.
A driving plan may describe, among other things, a driving path of the vehicle along a roadway. An autonomous operation system's framework for determining the driving path has to accommodate the dynamic changes in the environment surrounding the vehicle involved in real world situations. Developing and improving these frameworks is the subject of ongoing research.